Bases, stocks, and sustaining modern forces

A state with worldwide commitments needs major bases able to repair and support increasingly complex systems. Such theatre-level facilities cannot be assembled as quickly as a temporary forward operating site because they depend on specialized equipment, trained personnel, and deep stores. Modern aircraft make that burden concrete: even the skin must be checked to ensure its radar-absorbing properties still support stealth, using costly equipment and skilled personnel. Seventeenth-century naval stores held seasoned timber, spars, masts, and cannon for repairing ships. Modern forces need engine parts, microchips, radars, gun barrels, missiles, shells, and other ammunition. A force deployed far from home is useful only if the state has already built the means to sustain it.